Voting Begins for maurices “Small Town Sound” Nationwide Band Search — Fans Can Help Select the Top 50 Female-Fronted Bands

More than 500 bands have entered maurices “Small Town Sound” contest. Voting is now open. Music fans can visit maurices.com and click on Small Town Sound to listen to the amazing groups–all aiming to be discovered as the nation’s next big female-fronted band.

maurices, the leading small town specialty store and fashion authority, today announced that voting has opened for its nationwide “Small Town Sound” band search in partnership with PlayNetwork and Sonicbids. The “Small Town Sound” program was created as an extension of last year’s “Small Town Charm” campaign, a cross-country photo shoot which garnered immense support from local communities. The goal of Small Town Sound is not only to discover the hottest up-and-coming band in the country, but to continue building strong connections within maurices communities.

From now through November 15, fans can visit http://www.maurices.com and click on “Small Town Sound” to cast their votes. The site features band profiles and audio tracks, and the first round of voting by fans will narrow the field to the top 50 musical ensembles.

More than 525 eligible female-fronted bands have entered the contest in hopes of becoming the next hot musical act in the country. From these 50 bands, a group of panelists including The Bangles, Chrissie Hynde and indie rock group Sick of Sarah will narrow it to 10 finalists who will then have two weeks to create an original song based on the “Small Town Sound” theme. On December 1, voting will reopen on the site and consumers will vote a final time on the best original song to determine the grand prizewinner and the two runners up.

“We’re blown away by the number of female-fronted band submissions received for ‘Small Town Sound,’” said Lisa Bartlett, maurices Associate Vice President. “We were looking for a way to connect with our small town communities and inspire women to take a chance on their dreams. The enthusiasm from artists has been fantastic and now the fans get to vote and support their hometown favorites.”

The grand prize-winning band will perform live at their local maurices and receive a trip to Los Angeles to shoot a music video and record their winning song at the PlayNetwork production studio. They’ll also receive gifts from maurices and Daisy Rock Guitars as well as the opportunity to perform at a major national music festival this spring in a showcase with The Bangles and Sick of Sarah. Visit maurices.com for more information.

All fans who vote will receive a maurices coupon and will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of 13 maurices shopping sprees valued between 0 and ,000. Winners will be drawn and notified on January 5, 2011.

About maurices

Established in 1931, maurices is wholly owned by dressbarn inc. maurices is the leading small town specialty store and authority for the savvy, fashion-conscious girl with a twenty-something attitude. Today, maurices operates over 750 stores in 44 states. maurices stands for fashion, quality, value and customer service. Offering sizes 1-24, styles are inspired by the girl in everyone, in every size. For store information and to shop online visit maurices.com

About PlayNetwork

PlayNetwork, Inc. specializes in the creation and distribution of entertainment media that connects the voice of the brand to the consumer across all touch points – in-store, online and on-device. Founded in 1996, PlayNetwork is the industry’s leading integrated media provider for branded music, messaging, video, entertainment promotions and event media, systems integration services, retail advertising networks, and commercial XM Satellite Radio subscriptions. The company creates high-impact media experiences that drive consumer behavior and affinity, in-store and beyond. Working with many of today’s hottest brands in retail, hospitality, health and fitness, banking, and other business environments, PlayNetwork leads the way in creating media experiences that influence and inspire, making your brand relevant and engaging for the consumer. More information is available at http://www.playnetwork.com or http://www.xm4biz.com.

About Sonicbids

Sonicbids is the website the helps bands get gigs and promoters book the right bands. Our community includes more than 275,000 bands and 21,000 promoters and licensors from all around the world. With festivals, clubs, colleges, music licensing and much more, Sonicbids offers a diverse range of gigs for every kind of musician. In fact, last year alone, more than 71,000 gigs were booked on the site. The company was founded in 2001 by Panos Panay and continues to focus on its core mission of empowering the artistic middle class. Get a gig or book a band at http://www.sonicbids.com.